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Toronto Maple Leafs Roundtable: Summer Defence Edition

By Mike Stephens

TORONTO, ON - MARCH 28: Travis Dermott #23 of the Toronto Maple Leafs shoots against the Florida Panthers during the second period at the Air Canada Centre on March 28, 2018 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Kevin Sousa/NHLI via Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - MARCH 28: Travis Dermott #23 of the Toronto Maple Leafs shoots against the Florida Panthers during the second period at the Air Canada Centre on March 28, 2018 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Kevin Sousa/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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TORONTO, ON – APRIL 19: Travis Dermott #23 of the Toronto Maple Leafs skates with the puck against the Boston Bruins in Game Four of the Eastern Conference First Round in the 2018 Stanley Cup play-offs at the Air Canada Centre on April 19, 2018 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Bruins defeated the Maple Leafs 3-1. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON – APRIL 19: Travis Dermott #23 of the Toronto Maple Leafs skates with the puck against the Boston Bruins in Game Four of the Eastern Conference First Round in the 2018 Stanley Cup play-offs at the Air Canada Centre on April 19, 2018 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Bruins defeated the Maple Leafs 3-1. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images) /

Christopher Vassos

No. The Toronto Maple Leafs do not need to add another defenceman. The Leafs are exactly what the NHL needs right now to create a better game for the league. A fast, offensive team.

When Toronto goes on to have a total goals per game above 10, Gary Bettman will be more excited than ever. I would also love a higher scoring game, but as Bill Belichick once said “Defense wins Championships” and the NHL continues to believe that they should pay big money for D.

Why not just go all out on offence and try to win every game 7-5? Could they use someone on the back end? Sure, no team is perfect.

Look at it this way, Toronto Finished 20th in Goals Against per game (lower is better) at 2.80 and 3rd in Goals For per game (higher is better) at 3.29. In theory, we won every game by half a goal. You know what is going to help lower and raise those numbers respectively? John Tavares. An elite centre who also plays Power Play and Penalty Kill. This means more rest for the forwards, less pressure to have Hainsey and Zaitsev out for 2/2 min of minor penalties.

Now, I don’t think that Tavares is the solution for defence, but it will definitely help. As well as Travis Dermott, who was called up halfway through the season. This means he is a half season more experienced, along with his Calder Cup trophy. While Dermott might not be Erik Karlsson yet, he’s still an outstanding option we don’t have to acquire.

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